Israel Adesanya gave his analysis of Sean Strickland’s loss to Alex Pereira.
Sean Strickland took on Alex Pereira during the International Fight Week card of UFC 276 in Las Vegas on July 2. During the build-up to the event, Strickland trash-talked the reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at a press conference. Adesanya was not happy with his behavior and insisted he needed to focus on his rival.
As it turned out, Adesanya’s words came back to haunt Strickland.
Israel Adesanya talks Sean Strickland bashing him
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya talked about his Strickland bashing him at the presser. He believes that Strickland did not give “Poatan” his due, and paid dearly for taking him casually, as transcribed by MMA Junkie.
“He should’ve listened to me. He should’ve listened to me when I told him, ‘Just focus on the guy you have in front of you, not me.’ He was trying to be like that idiot in the back of the class.
“I hated having to address that idiot. Like, I’m trying to f*cking work and the guy I’m focused on is next to me or down the line and this idiot, this dumbass in the back of the class just disrupting.
“I was like, ‘Yo, it’s not me you need to worry about. Focus on this guy. He thought he had the opportunity, and I’m like, ‘OK, bet.’ If he actually did what he had to do, me and him would be fighting next.”
“Stylebender” reacted to Strickland’s loss to Alex Pereira
Further, Adesanya disputed Strickland’s claims that he was doing well up until he got caught. The 185 lb king stated that he saw the finish coming, and did not find it hard for Pereira either.
“Don’t fight with your ego, he fought with his ego. He said, ‘I thought I was doing pretty well.’ You’re not doing pretty well. … I’ve seen this before, I’ve done this before. You can see it coming. … I was like, ‘change up,’ but Pereira didn’t need a change up. He just threw a left hook, really, really simple. Boom dropped him, right hand, finished him.”
Israel Adesanya is expected to face Alex Pereira in his next title defense.
